Lower back pain is a common ailment that affects many people. There are many reasons for lower back pain, including over exertion of the back muscles, incorrectly lifting heavy objects, disc herniation or degenerative disc disease. In addition, lower back pain may be the result of dislocated vertebrae or dorso-lumbar scoliosis. Treatment of lower back pain has been accomplished in several ways in the past.
One method applies traction to the lower back region of the spine in order to treat lower back pain. The lower back region typically includes the lumbar vertebrae of the spinal column and the area in the lower back that surrounds it. In this regard, reference is made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,835,247, 3,926,182 and 4,987,885 to Stabholz, and 3,889,664 to Heuser et al. Generally, these patents disclose lumbar traction devices having an upper belt, a lower belt and a tensioning mechanism disposed between the belts for forcing the belts apart. Such devices further include a lordosis pad positioned between the upper and lower belts. The lordosis pad is used to apply forward pressure against the lower back region and the spine while the spine is in tension.
In operation, the upper belt is tightened about a user's torso while the lower belt is tightened about the waist. The tensioning mechanism forces the belts apart, which tensions the spine and causes the vertebrae in the spine separate. Forward pressure is then exerted on the lower back region and the spine by the lordosis pad. This forward pressure controls the forward convexity of the spine, and can be used to reposition a dislocated vertebrae.
Other back treatment methods provide support and bracing for the lumbar vertebrae of the spinal column. In this regard, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,135 to Racz et al. This patent discloses a belt having a centrally located pad of a size to be received against and provide support for the lower back region. The pad includes an inflatable chamber. A valve is provided by which the volume of the chamber can be varied. When a user compresses the belt between their body and a seat back, air is expelled from the chamber. When the compression force is removed, air flows back into the chamber.
Frequently, however, back pain occurs in specific muscles or points of the lower back region. Such lower back pain may be the result of a sore muscle, muscle spasm or a pressure point in a muscle. When this occurs, it is desirable to apply a concentrated pressure to the specific painful point or muscle of the lower back region. Such treatment is known in the medical field as pressure point therapy. Moreover, the pain may be located in several distinct locations in the lower back, requiring the simultaneous application of concentrated pressure to each location in the lower back region.
Generally, finger pressure is a method utilized to alleviate such back pain. However, the application of pressure in this manner is limited by the amount of time a person is able to apply the finger pressure before becoming fatigued. In addition, it may be difficult to provide a constant pressure to the painful area.
Prior art back treatment devices generally provide for the application of pressure over an area of the lower back that includes the lumbar vertebrae of the spinal column and the area surrounding it. The application of pressure in this manner is utilized to control the forward convexity of the spine or to brace the spinal column. As such, the pressure is distributed over the lower back. Consequently, such prior art devices may not alleviate lower back pain when a concentrated pressure point is required. In addition, such prior art devices generally do not provide for the application of several concentrated pressure to points of the lower back region simultaneously. In addition, prior art lumbar traction devices are cumbersome, complicated and relatively expensive to produce.
The present invention circumvents the disadvantages in the prior art by providing a belt that enables the simultaneous application of concentrated pressure to points of the lower back region in order to alleviate lower back pain which is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use.